In one instant the pressure and then the click
Of a landmine
Which you just triggered
Not even realising you were on dangerous ground.
One small misstep and the world drains of colour
Closing in to one breath,
One heartbeat,
So loud you think they must hear it.
All the words fail and fall away.
C’s and T’s scuttle round my feet like angry insects and vanish into the cracks.
P’s pop helplessly like seed pods and scatter in the wind while
O’s and A’s moan as they go like mournful ghosts.
S’s slither into the shrubs and I wish I could disappear so easily.
Exposed, I’m left with nothing.
If I could look, I might plead with my eyes,
Can’t you see the trouble I’m in?
But I can’t move and I can’t speak
Any minute I might be shattered.
Even when all the pieces are gathered up after
There’s still the memory of being torn apart.
E. Travelli 